Esoteric
by Trufreak89
Summary: A woman goes to the CIA claiming to be Rhambaldi and demanding to speak with a certain agent.Femslash in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:** A woman goes to the CIA offering information on Rhambaldi, but only if she can speak with the agent she has a drawing of. (Femslash in later chaps)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG (will be PG-13 later on)

**A/N:** Set after Crossings but AU after that.

On the third ring of her cell phone Sydney Bristow groaned and snatched it from her nightstand. "Bristow." She answered groggily.

"Sydney, it's Dixon. We have a situation I need you to come in straight away." He hung up without giving her any more information. She groaned as she looked at the clock, it was after two in the morning.

When she arrived at the CIA base of operations Dixon and her father ushered her into Dixon's office straight away. "What's going on?" She asked.

"An hour ago a young woman walked up to my front door and told me she wanted to see a woman, she held up a drawing of you. She told me she had vital information on Rhambaldi, but she refuses to disclose it to anyone but the woman in the drawing."

Vaughn sat in an interview room with the young woman who had entered the CIA building with Dixon and requested to speak to the woman in her drawing. When Vaughn had seen it was Sydney he had asked to speak to the woman.

"Hello. I'm Michael Vaughn, and you are?" The woman's gaze lifted from the table to meet his.

"You are not the one I'm looking for."

"You're looking for a close friend of mine, I'd like to know why." Vaughn replied.

The young woman ran a hand though her loose ebony hair and sighed, a look of sympathy settling in her pale blue eyes. "You love her, but she is not your wife." Vaughn's eyes darted to his wedding ring. "And she can't love you anymore, I'm sorry Agent Vaughn."

"Who the hell are you?" Vaughn was loosing his calm exterior. The woman looked up as Sydney approached the door.  
"This does not concern you Vaughn."

Sydney and Dixon entered the room and the woman's eyes brightened as she saw Sydney and a grin spread over her face. "You're finally here." Sydney was taken aback by the stranger. She had never met the woman in her life and yet something inside her warned her to fear the woman and flee as fast as she could, unfortunately Sydney rarely listened to her irrational fears.

"Who are you and why do I concern you?" Sydney was blunt, she wanted to get away from the woman as fast as she could.

"I will speak to you alone." She replied. Dixon nodded at Vaughn and the two men left. Sydney took the seat that Vaughn had occupied and waited for the woman to talk.

"You're tired aren't you?" She asked. Sydney had not been expecting the question.

"I've had very little sleep tonight as I was woken up by my superior informing me that someone I have never met will only talk to me. I was told this was about Rhambaldi."

"I didn't mean tonight. I meant in life. You're so very tired of trying to hold everything together, work, love, your mind. So much pressure on one woman…"

Sydney stood up to leave and the woman spoke again. "I will tell you my name if you tell me yours."

"You seem to think you know how I fell yet you don't know my name?" Sydney quizzed mockingly. The woman gave her an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach, a feeling usually reserved for extreme fear.

"I know of you, I know you work for this agency because of your pride for this country and your need to keep its people safe."

"My name is Agent Sydney Bristow." The woman smiled and nodded.

"A beautiful name."

"And yours?"

"You already know it Sydney." The woman replied, staring into Sydney's gaze. "It's haunted you for so long. It destroyed your life, lost you Vaughn, your mother, your father, everyone is so obsessed with it that they all forget about your pain, but my name won't leave you alone. It is your pain."

"Are you quite finished? Because if the answer is not 'yes' followed by your name this conversation is over."

The woman smirked. "You fear me Sydney, but you, nor anyone else knows why. You fear I'm evil and through you could bring the world into utter desolation." Sydney crossed her arms and went to walk out of the room.

"Milo Rhambaldi." The woman called out.

"What?" Sydney asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"My name."

Sydney scoffed and felt her fear of the woman leave. "Well you're looking pretty amazing for a _man_ who's been dead for four hundred years."

"You know that's two things history gets wrong about me. I'm neither male nor dead. I am Milo Rhambaldi, my DNA would have proved it if someone had not destroyed the sample contained in the box that you recovered. But there is another sample of the DNA of Milo Rhambaldi. Arvin Sloane is in possession of it. It will prove who I am. Then we can talk more Sydney, because I've always been very interested in getting to know you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:** A woman goes to the CIA offering information on Rhambaldi, but only if she can speak with the agent she has a drawing of. (Femslash in later chaps)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG (will be PG-13 later on)

**A/N:** Set after Crossings but AU after that.

After leaving the woman who claimed to be Rhambaldi with two armed guards Sydney had reported to Dixon, who along with her father, Vaughn and Lauren Reed had been watching the interview via the cameras in the room.

"We need to contact Kendall immediately." Dixon informed her before she could speak.

"You actually believe her?" Sydney blurted out. "Rhambaldi was a man who lived over four hundred years ago…"

"When Sloane was pardoned he handed the CIA something they could take as a sign of good faith. It was a sample of Rhambaldi's DNA. The very fact that this woman knew of the DNA sample forces me to call Kendall. This woman may not be the real Rhambladi, but she might be a descendant. A DNS test will show us exactly who we are dealing with." Jack explained to his frustrated daughter.

Within a few hours Kendall had been informed and the DNA sample of Rhambaldi had been compared with the woman who sat patiently in the interview room.

When Kendall was handed the results he stared expressionlessly at the paper. Eventually he spoke the agents gathered in Dixon's office. "The DNA results show that the DNA sample from Milo Rhambaldi matches exactly that of the woman in CIA custody. She's genuine. Milo Rhambaldi is neither male nor dead."

When Kendall and Dixon entered the interview room they found the two armed guards unconscious and their guns missing. "We can't let that woman escape custody!" Kendall growled as he hit the emergency button located on the wall of the room.

Sydney had been taken from the CIA building by an armed escort, due to Kendall's fears of why Rhambaldi had presented herself to them in order to get to Sydney. Inside a CIA armoured car she sat in the back seat with three armed agents accompanying her to a safe house. Usually Sydney would have objected to being babysat and taken out of the loop, but she could still feel the fear she had encountered from being near Rhambaldi and with all of the danger Rhambaldi had caused her encounter in the past Sydney had agreed with Kendall that a safe house was the best idea.

As they drove down a derelict road en route to the safe house another car slammed into their side. Sydney was jerked forward and her head whacked off the chair in front of her.

The two agents on the right hand side where the car had hit were unconscious and only the driver and Sydney remained conscious. Sydney scrambled to undo her seatbelt and she grabbed the driver's gun from his holster. When the back passenger door opened Sydney turned to face Milo Rhambaldi with the gun in her trembling hands.

"You won't shoot me Sydney. The CIA would never allow it." She held out her hand for the gun.

"The CIA would rather I shot you then risk allowing me to fall into your hands." Rhambaldi nodded and then allowed an admiring smile to spread over her lips.

"You're an amazing woman Sydney, and your intelligent. With all intellectuals comes curiosity. The CIA has no idea why you were in my manuscript, neither does the Covenant or Arvin Sloane. I can make everything clear to you if you will allow me to."

She held out her hand for the gun once more and Sydney begrudgingly handed it to her. "Thank you." Rhambaldi smiled before bringing the butt of the gun down to Sydney's temple and knocking her out. "I hope you can handle clarity Sydney, because you're not going to like it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG (PG-13 in later chapters)

**A/N:** Sorry it's taken so long to update but I've finally wrote another chapter, I plan to finish this story within the next three weeks before all of my exams start otherwise it wouldn't be finished until the end of June.

**Rhambaldi's POV**

I watch her as she sleeps in my bed. Her breathing is slow and controlled and her face is peaceful. She has been sleeping since I struck her almost nine hours ago. The CIA have been searching for both of us ever since. The world of espionage has been informed of my appearance. The Covenant, my followers, the K-directorate and the CIA are all hunting me down. They all want to know the truth behind my work.

Sydney will want to know more than anyone; after all she is a part of it. I need to win her confidence, I cannot tell her the truth, she isn't ready for it, so I must lie to her. She is trained to deceive and see through the deception of others, if I lie to her now she will see through me, I need her trust, for if she were to find out the truth she would not be ready for it.

She stirs gently as I watch her, pondering what lies she would believe. I know in her gut she will accept no lies, but the ones I tell her she will want to hear and so she will ignore the instinct that has undoubtedly kept her alive all these years.

After another few hours to perfect my lies she wakes up. Her pleasant and peaceful expression changes the second she see me. She hates me so much it hurts. Not for hitting her, or even abducting her; for destroying her life.

Because of my work she has been used, deceived, taken, destroyed and abandoned. The people around her see her as a threat, she has no idea why I need her, but others believe it is for evil and they fear and distrust her; but evil to one is good to another and my followers have aided me in my quest to take the woman I have sought out for centuries.

I smile comfortingly at her, but she only returns it with a scowl. "Where am I?" She asks.

"You are in my house." I reply honestly. "I struck you, you've been sleeping for almost half a day…"

"Why do I concern you?" She snapped impatiently, she's covering the fear that burns deeply in her soul.

"You're very special Sydney." I reply honestly again, but soon I must deceive her, like everyone in her life has done before me.

"I mean you no harm Sydney, I need you for my work to be complete. Your DNA will power my greatest invention. Once you allow me a sample of your blood I shall be out of your life for good."

"You're lying." She replies. "I've read your prophecy about me and people like my mother, Arvin Sloane, and Julian Sark are obsessed with your work. They're all bad people. Now stop lying to me, I'm not a child. I can handle the truth."

I look away from her and shake my head. "No, you can't. You're not a child Sydney, but you should have been when I took possession of you. Your mother was supposed to deliver you to me when you were five years old and her cover was blown, your father didn't allow it. I went to him and he refused to give you to me, but it's your destiny to be with me Sydney…"

"I am not your possession!" She snarls angrily. I shake my head sadly.

"Yes, you are." I explain. "You are mine Sydney, and nothing can change that. You belong to me, I need you and I will use everything I have to keep you. You can't fight destiny Sydney, and you can only run away from it for so long."


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG-13

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and in response to Egyhon's review I wouldn't just not continue a story without a very good reason, I'm just getting less time to work on my fanfiction due to school work, but I'll update as often as I can.

Chapter Four

Arvin Sloane, Jack, Dixon and Kendall all sat in the CIA briefing room along with Vaughn and Lauren who had insisted on being involved. Sloane had also asked that Marshall join them, but he had not stated why.

" We need to determine Rhambaldi's motives for taking Sydney. We've always known she was somehow connected to his…her work. Now more than ever it is vital that we know why." Kendall explained as he led the meeting.

"Irina never told me why Rhambaldi wanted Sydney, only that she was important to Rhambaldi's work." Jack replied, his gaze settled on the floor away from the faces of his colleagues.

"Wanted?" Vaughn repeated. "You knew Rhambaldi was alive? That he…she was after Syd and you didn't think that maybe it was worth mentioning?"

"When Irina left a woman got in touch with me, she said she had made a deal with Irina, that she could have Sydney. I refused, then she told me who she was, I didn't believe it. I thought she was some fraud trying to steal the only person I had left in my life."

Sloane cleared his throat for their attention before speaking. "As we're all sharing our past experiences…Irina told me she had made a deal with Rhambaldi, that she was willing to give up her daughter to the woman. Yes, she told me Rhambaldi was really a woman. From her intelligence, power and amazing insight history mistook her for being male. Irina also informed me of Rhambaldi's end game…"

"From what we've gathered so far and with the fact that Rhambaldi is still alive we think it's some sort of immortality." Marshall interrupted. Sloane cast a glance at the usually unconfident man. "With all due respect, which for you is none, you're not my boss…and I don't like you." He added and quickly sat down next to Vaughn who was trying desperately to suppress a smirk.

"Be that as it may, when I was your employer I had you run the likelihood of an invention Rhambaldi had drafted, you said it was highly unlikely to work. You were wrong."

Marshall's eyes widened and he shook his head. "That…that would never work…it's impossible." Marshall blabbered. "That kinda thing just can't be done…"

"What are you talking about?" Kendall interrupted Marshall's ramblings.   
"Rhambaldi's end game." Sloane informed him. "I know exactly why she wants Sydney and neither she nor any of you will like it."

"Tell me my destiny then." Sydney shouted at Rhambaldi as she stood as far away as she could. Milo Rhambaldi smiled lovingly at Sydney as she walked towards her. Sydney tried to back off and bumped against a wall. She was pressed against the wall by the great inventor.

"To love me." She whispered in her ear. Sydney was sure she had misheard. She was sure that Rhambaldi's lips weren't pressed to her own and she was sure that any minute she'd wake up and find it had all been a horrible nightmare.

Rhambaldi pulled away as Sydney didn't respond to the kiss. "I know this is hard for you Sydney, but you belong to me and with time you'll grow to love me…" Sydney pushed her away violently.

"Yeah, maybe on the twelfth of never." She snapped disgustedly as she wiped her lips. Rhambaldi smirked and Sydney felt like she was missing something as though so big secret was being kept from her and the woman before her was revelling in knowing something Sydney didn't.

"Sydney, I am over four hundred years old. I have all the time in the world…so when the twelfth of never comes, I'll be there…and so will you."

"I very much doubt I'll live to see my first century never mind a fourth." Sydney replied. "I'm not like you. I'm mortal, I'll die and in my line of work my death probably isn't a million miles away." Rhambaldi shook her head.

"Do you think I'd let you die Sydney? When I'm finished you'll be just like me and I will be the only one who will stay in your life, your friends and family will die before your eyes and the new ones you make will die too, and you will not. I will be the only one you have and you're going to accept that!"

"I won't let you keep me alive for so long." Sydney argued. Rhambaldi smirked.

"Maybe it's already done. Maybe you're already immortal and I really am all you'll have left in your never ending life." Sydney looked at her gun that rested on the bedside table; obviously Rhambaldi had been too arrogant to think Sydney would be able to do any damage with it.

She ran for it and pointed it at the Rhambaldi. The woman laughed cruelly and shook her head. She spread her arms out wide as though they were wings and stared defiantly at Sydney. "You're not quite grasping the immortality are you?" She asked.

"Oh believe me I am." Sydney replied. "You want me to live forever, live in this harsh world, live this life, right not I can barely stand to know that when I wake up in the morning I'm alive and I have another day of pain and heartache. I won't let that last for eternity. I may not be able to kill you, but I'm betting you were bluffing when you said you'd already made me immortal…so I'm going to find out…"

"NO!" Rhambaldi screamed out, afraid of what Sydney's tired and irrational mind would do. "You're not immortal, yet. You have my word." Sydney knew she finally had the upper hand.

"I'm leaving now and if you in anyway try to stop me I will shoot myself, is that clear?"

"Yes." She replied bitterly as Sydney headed to the door of the room. "You really are that desperate Sydney, to end your life. It must be hard living with all the pain and heartache you've experienced in your short life."

"Most of it was because of you in someway or another." Sydney snapped.

"Let me make it up to you. I can show you the world Sydney…"

"I've seen it." She shouted bitterly. "I've travelled to dozens upon dozens of countries, dressed in disguises, killing, stealing, deceiving the people I love, even losing them, all because of you!" She pushed the gun to her temple. "Now let me go."

Rhambaldi sat on the bed and sighed. "I know it's hard Sydney, but what do you have besides me? A father who has lied to you for most of your life? A lover who married within two years of losing you? A job that will either take your life or your sanity? We're destined to be together Sydney. You have no idea how special you are to me. How much I need you, please stay with me. What do you have to lose?"

Sydney's eyes glistened with unshed tears and finally they slid down her cheeks as she sobbed and threw the gun at the wall opposite her. She slumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around herself to comfort her.

"Nothing." Sydney sobbed. "I have nothing to lose."


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Esoteric

**Summary:** Sydney learns what four hundred years of preparation means to her destiny.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating:**PG-13

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far.

Chapter Five

"What do you want with me?" Sydney asked as she sat with Rambaldi staring at her admiringly.

"You're more beautiful than I could have ever imagined." She replied as she caressed Sydney's cheek. "And you have the most adorable ears." Sydney pulled away.

"I asked you a question Rambaldi!" Rambaldi sighed as she stared off into the distance.

"I am sick of everyone calling me Rambaldi. Please, call me Milo. And what I want Sydney is you. Over four hundred years ago I had my first vision of you. Ever since that day I strived to make my vision true, to fulfil the prophecy I have seen and now with your help I finally can. We are so very close."

"Why do you want me?" Sydney repeated. Milo Rambaldi smiled at the beautiful woman before her.

"I want you to have my child."

"What!" Sydney shouted. "For a genius scientist well ahead of your time you seem to have a problem with biology." Rambaldi laughed at Sydney's objections.

"Of course I can not make you pregnant, not directly anyway." She smiled as someone opened the door and entered the dimly lit room. "But I prepared everything over the centuries Sydney and now all of my work has come together and both the chosen one and the deliverer are born and ready to reach their destinies."

"Who is the deliverer?" Sydney choked out as a man neared the light cast from the bedside lamp.

"I told you we were truly destined to work together." Sark's British accent filled her ears and she shook her head.

"NO!" She shouted in disgust. "There is no way I am having a child with that…psychopath!"

"You have no choice." Sark objected coolly. "Over four hundred years of planning will not be lost simply because you feel like sulking because your destiny isn't what you wanted."

"Screw you!" Sydney shouted angrily.

"That is generally how children are made Sydney." He smirked at the look of indignity and horror that spread over her face.

"I would rather kill myself than let you touch me Sark." She practically growled.

Rambaldi sighed and put her arms around Sydney. "Julian will not touch you my sweet, you're mine, not his." She smiled as Sydney relaxed in her embrace. "After all this is the twenty first century, sex isn't the only way to bring a child in to the world." Sark frowned at not being able to have Sydney.

"Why Sark?" Sydney asked.

"I saw him in my vision, he was telling you that he believed the two of you were destined to work together, and I agreed. He is strong and intelligent, skilful and charming and he has power in his blood. Some who learnt of my need for Julian tried to stop me, they slaughtered his ancestors, but luckily the only life spared was that of Julian's great, great grandmother, Anastasia Romanov."

"By modifying Julian's contribution to our child I can transplant some of my own D.N.A into our child. It will have all of my power and abilities. Between the three of us we can make the greatest human being that ever lived!" Rambaldi beamed as she held Sydney and Sark sat beside her. "And I will finally have the family and child I have strived to achieve for over four hundred years."

"I'm sorry." Sydney whispered in her ear as she pulled Sark's gun from his holster. She shot Rambaldi in the chest and aimed the gun at Sark.

"Sydney, don't do this. You're destroying your destiny…your soul mate. Rambaldi knows the two of you are meant to be…you're the only one who can't see it." Sydney shook her head.

"I already have my soul mate!" She snapped. Sark scoffed at her.

"Who? Vaughn? He's weak and he stays with his wife when he could have you!"

"She has me!" Rambaldi shouted before striking Sydney over the back of the head, knocking her to the floor. Sark took the gun and he and Rambaldi carried Sydney from the room to a small laboratory with an operating table in the centre.

"You're contribution has been prepared, I've added mine to it." Rambaldi explained as she and Sark restrained Sydney down to the operating table. Now it just needs phase three." She caressed Sydney's cheek before kissing her. "I'm sorry you don't want this, but you really don't have a choice. You will love our child though and we will be a family." She smiled and kissed Sydney one last time before starting.

When Sydney woke up she was back in Rambaldi's bed with Rambaldi lying beside her. "Good morning." Rambaldi smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Nauseous." Sydney replied and almost jumped out of bed in shock as she looked down at the large bump that was her stomach.

"How long was I out? Three months?" Rambaldi gently pushed her down so she was lying comfortably again and explained.

"Sydney, our child is very precious. It's not like other foetuses. Within three months you'll be the proud mother of our child, after that the child's growth will be normal, but in your womb it grows three time as fast as a regular child. No one believed it could be done…I guess I proved them wrong." She kissed Sydney before rising out of bed. "Is there anything you need?"

"A gun, any kind as long as it has at least one bullet." Sydney replied. Shocked at how her body had been used and violated with a child she had no desire for.

Rambaldi sighed. "You'll feel different in three months. I know you'll love our child, because it's who you are Sydney. There is no way on this earth that you would not love your own child."

"This _thing_ is not my child. It's an experiment and an abnormality. It shouldn't exist!" Sydney shouted, letting all of her pent up anger explode out. Milo Rambaldi looked pained by her outburst.

"You don't mean that Syd. We both know it."

"I don't love you." Sydney simply replied bitterly. "You made me feel like you were all I had, but that isn't true. I have someone so important to me, someone I love so much that you could never understand."

Rambaldi frowned. "Sydney if you try and hurt out child or leave me then you will have nothing left. I will tear your lover limb from limb. Is that understood? You see Sydney, I am Milo Rambaldi, I see everything and if you betray me I will kill the only person you have left to love and I will make you watch as she dies."


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG-13

Chapter Six

When Rambaldi walked in to her room she found Sydney sitting quietly on the bed waiting for her. "I will have your child…at some point I may even be able to love it, but this has to work both ways. I won't run or harm our child…but you have to let me say goodbye to her. Please."

Rambaldi took out her cell phone and handed it to Sydney, she had no fear that she would inform the CIA of what was going on, she would never risk her lover's life and she knew this would be the only time she could talk to her one last time.

"Hey, it's me." Sydney talked in to the phone as Rambaldi stood by the door. "Yeah, it's true, it's already happened…it's ok sweetie. Everything's going to be ok. I just needed to tell you that I love you, I always will no matter what…good bye." Sydney hung up and lowered her gaze from Rambaldi as tears ran down her face.

Lauren sat in the CIA briefing room listening to Sydney as she spoke. "Sydney? Thank God. Sloane thinks he knows what Rambaldi's up to, she wants a child…already happened? Oh no, Sydney…I…" Lauren looked up at the people around her, Sydney's father, her oldest living friend and Lauren's husband. "I love you to Hun…Goodbye? Sydney…Sydney!"

The others looked to her expectantly. "Rambaldi has already impregnated Sydney. We're too late." Vaughn stared at her with confusion spread over his darkened features.

"Why did you say you loved her?" He asked. "The two of you can barely be in a room alone without snapping at each other…what's going on?" Lauren's eyes darted away from Vaughn's stare as she flushed. They had been found out, but it didn't matter. Sydney was gone. She had to face Vaughn's wrath and Jack's anger on her own.

"We…we were together." Lauren replied.

"Together!" Vaughn spat out the word as though it were poisonous. "You…you cheated on me with my ex…with another woman!" Vaughn tried to storm over to Lauren but was stopped as Jack's fist connected with his face, sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Agent Vaughn, the only time I have seen my daughter happy in the past few months since she returned has been when she and Lauren were together. You may have given up on her because you are weak or you don't feel she's worth it, but Lauren risked her marriage, her career and her life loving Sydney. She made Sydney happier than you ever could."

Lauren looked at Jack in surprise. "You knew?" He nodded. "How?"

"When Sydney was in high school I knew which boys were going to ask her out before she did. I always knew whom my daughter was involved with, either professionally or romantically. Nothing has changed." Jack explained. "I noticed how much more alive Sydney has been the past three months. When I confronted her she tried to hide it, but over time I noticed the interactions the two of you had at work and put two and two together. Sydney admitted it to me a few days ago."

Vaughn looked disgusted from his place on the floor. "How can you be so calm? Your daughter likes woman!" Jack looked down at him and sneered.

"My daughter _loves_ Lauren. That is all that matters to me, that and getting my daughter back safe."

Lauren grinned. "I may be able to help with that. I had Marshall make a few alterations to my cell phone. Any call that lasts longer than thirty seconds can be traced. It's stored on Marshall's computer…I had a feeling Sydney would try and call."

"What are we waiting for people?" Kendall smiled and gave the order to assemble an assault team to retrieve Sydney once they had her location.

Dixon, Jack, Lauren, Weiss and a group of other agents made up the team, Vaughn had been refused clearance for the mission on the grounds that he could compromise the mission.

As soon as they got the location they scrambled into CIA helicopters in teams of four. Jack and Lauren were in one team. "Lauren." Jack said to get her attention. The anxious blonde looked over to him. "Once this is over, and we have Sydney back safely…I was wondering if the two of you would consider having dinner with me."

Lauren smiled and held on to his hand. "I'm sure Sydney would love that. We just need to get her back first." Jack nodded and placed his other hand on top of Lauren's.

"We'll get her back."

"Of course we will, no one takes my Sydney and gets away with it." Lauren smiled weakly. It felt good to be able to call Sydney hers in public.

As Rambaldi slept with Sydney beside her she was woken by a slight noise. Someone was in her house. She reached over to the bedside cabinet where she kept a holster with two guns in. although she was a woman of science and art she had learned long ago when her workshops had been destroyed by the authorities and her work sold off that if she was to survive she needed to be able to wield a weapon and fight without one.

The second she moved from the bed Sydney darted up. "What's going on?" Rambaldi held a finger to her lip to quieten her.

"There are people in my house…probably CIA. Just remember, if you hurt our child or try to leave me then Lauren Reed will die. Is that clear?" Sydney nodded. After Rambaldi left to find Sark and alert him Sydney snuck out of her room and crept through the vast corridors of the silent house.

The five teams of four split up led by the superior agents through out the large mansion. Jack and Lauren accompanied by two other agents silently made their way through the fourth floor. When they came to a fork in the corridor they split up in to twos with Jack leading one and Lauren leading the other.

As the agent who was accompanying Lauren went round a corner she stopped dead in her tracks as a gunshot echoed in the quiet hallway. The agent dropped down in front of her and Lauren scrambled in to the safety of a nearby room. She closed the door over so that it was open an inch and watched as Sark bent down to take the man's pulse.

He stood up and moved on past the door to find Rambaldi and inform her that he'd shot an intruder who looked like he was CIA. As Lauren was about to leave the room she felt her gun being pulled from it's holster and pushed against the back of her temple. "Who do you work for?" She heard a voice whisper in her ear and sighed a breath of relief as she slowly raised her hands to the ski mask, which covered her head.

When she pulled it off she felt the gun being removed from her skull and Sydney's arms wrapped around her. "You shouldn't be here." She scorned but continued to hold her tightly. "If I leave or harm out child she will kill you…I can't let that happen."

"What if she couldn't find us?" Lauren asked as she turned to face her lover.

"The CIA can't protect us Lauren…"

"We don't need the CIA." Lauren interrupted. "Michael knows now, I think he hates us, but that means there's nothing keeping us back. We could run and hide from Rambaldi somewhere she could never find us."

Sydney's gaze travelled down to her stomach. "In three months I'm going to have her and mine…and Sark's child. I don't know what she wants a child for but I doubt it will be a little angel."

Lauren smiled as she placed a kiss on Sydney's lips, reclaiming what was hers. "If I can handle its mother I can handle anything." When Jack arrived back at the corridor Lauren had been in he found the dead agent, his own partner had been killed and Jack had been shot in the arm, but there was no sign of Lauren.

He raised his gun as a door opened quietly to his left and sighed as he found Sydney and Lauren emerging from it. "Dad." Sydney whispered and embraced him.

"We have to go. The others are waiting at the choppers." He led Sydney and Lauren to the roof where two helicopters were waiting for the remaining agents.

Sydney stopped as they reached the chopper. "Dad. If I go with you then I'm putting everyone in danger, including Lauren…I can't lose her." Jack nodded in understanding.

"You know how to fly a helicopter." He signalled for the pilot of one to get in the other helicopter and hugged his daughter before following the pilot.

Lauren held Sydney's hand as they sat in the chopper and watched the others leave. They were leaving behind their families and friends and all of their past, but they had no other choice. "I love you." Sydney said before they took off. "I'm so sorry that this is happening, I'm taking you away from everyone you care about…" Lauren silenced her with a kiss and shook her head.

"There's no where else I'd rather be than with you…even if that means raising someone else's child, I would do anything for you Sydney. I love you and Rambaldi will never hurt you again."


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:** Three months after running Sydney gives birth.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG-13

Chapter Seven

Elise Stein lay in bed holding her newborn child as her fiancée Amanda Johnston sat in a chair beside her fast asleep. It was almost dawn and Elise had given birth only a few hours ago to the precious bundle she held in her arms.

Holding her child in her arms with her fiancée beside her Elise hadn't felt so happy in a long time. She looked down at her tiny daughter and smiled at how perfect she was. Elise knew that her daughter would be safe, she and Amanda would look after her no matter what, and both would lay their lives down for their child, but neither would tell her the truth of her life.

Three months ago Sydney Bristow and Lauren Reed had disappeared and a CIA helicopter they had last been seen in was found crashed in a field in Belgium with no signs of their bodies, the CIA had presumed them dead.

Then two and a half months later Elise Stein and Amanda Johnston had bought a luxury apartment in Boston Bay. Elise was expecting their child, conceived from an anonymous donor, and they had built their lives from there, in preparation for the child to be born by a home birth.

They would protect their child from Milo Rambaldi, the immortal Italian prophet who had caused her to exist for as long as they lived and Faith Derevko, named Derevko after her grandmother who had helped to set events in to order to allow her to be born, such as finding her destined father, would live in blissful ignorance of how much of a threat to the world she could be.

When Amanda stirred she found Elise holding little Faith and gazing wistfully in to her innocent eyes. "It's hard to believe something so pure can come from evil things like Sark and Rambaldi, she obviously takes after you." Sitting on the edge of the bed Amanda took hold of the child and led her to the window as Elise followed.

Looking out from the window of the apartment they owned on to the tree lined boulevard below as the sun rose for the first time over Faith's pale skin they held their breaths as though the morning light would expose their secret and Rambaldi or the CIA would storm in and take their child.

"We're finally free." Elise smiled after a few moments of anticipation. Amanda looked down at the child she would raise and the woman she loved and nodded before placing a soft kiss on her fiancée's lips.

"We're a family now Syd…Elise, no one can take that from us." Elise embraced her fiancée as she held their child in the morning light and gazed out in to the distance.

Her life had become perfect and for Sydney that had meant that something was going to go wrong, and Elise prayed that she could break free of the cursed life and destiny she had had as Sydney Bristow and start a new life with her family.

Nine years later Sydney Bristow walked in to the CIA Los Angeles office where Director Jack Bristow confronted her immediately. "Sydney?" His daughter had not aged a day although she was now nearing her forties.

"Dad." She replied tersely and in an instant he saw the pain and horror that filled Sydney's eyes. "Rambaldi, she found Lauren and I and Faith, our daughter, we didn't have time to run and there was no where to run to…I…didn't tell them. I killed them both as they slept…they're dead. My family is dead and my life is gone…I tried to kill myself with them, so we could go all together as a family, but the poison didn't work on me, I've tried to kill myself seven times and it never works…Rambaldi threatened to make me immortal nine years ago and now I can't die, I can't have my family back…" She broke down in floods of tears as she slumped against her father.

He tried to stay strong for his daughter, but after nine years of letters and photos of her new family, even though he had not met his grand daughter, the loss still cut through his heart and his daughter was damned to live eternity with the guilt of killing her family and having everyone she loves die around her as she stays alive for all eternity. Tears slipped out of his eyes and marred his face like the battle scars that marked his body from life.

"I'll make her pay." Sydney growled resolutely and rose to her feet, her tears of pain and anguish drying and a hardness forming in her eyes. "She can't die but she can suffer, and I'm going to make her suffer forever. She'll wish she could die…"

"Maybe she can." Vaughn stood beside the father and daughter after over hearing everything and looked determinedly at Jack who nodded his approval. "Marshall and the lab guys have been working on a new toy, if it works then when you kill Rambaldi, we can separate her body, without it she can't regenerate and we store the different bits in titanium boxes, we hide them in the four corners of the world and she can never regenerate, she's as good as dead."

"It'll work?" Sydney asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.  
"We believe so." Vaughn replied. "Marshall and Nicole have been working on it for months, calculating the risk and success rate, testing the box to nuclear radiation and other possible corrosion factors…"

"Nicole?" Sydney asked warily.

A slight smile touched Vaughn's lips as he showed her his wedding ring. "We've been married for seven years…we have twins, a girl and a boy, Abby and Sebastian." He explained and then stopped as he thought of how touchy the subject of children and family would be for her. She smiled, remembering how happy her family had made her and seeing it reflected in Vaughn's proud eyes.

"I'm happy for you, and if you're wife and Marshall can do this then they'll make this world a hell of a lot safer."

"I think we should update you on what's been going on the past nine years." Jack explained as he led her to his office. "A lot's changed."


	8. Chapter 8

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:** Sydney isn't the only one who has to deal with the loss of her child

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG-13

**A/N: **The last chapter was a little dark, but I know exactly where I'm going with this story and the death was needed to allow it to progress.

Chapter Eight

As Sydney sat in her father's office staring vacantly at the wall he entered with a cup of coffee and handed it to her. "Thanks." She muttered, finally tearing her gaze away from the wall and directing it at her father.

"Do you hate me?" She asked as he sat beside her. "It's ok if you do, I killed you only grandchild…"

"Sydney…"

"No, Dad please, just listen to me." Sydney objected. "Lauren and I brought Faith up with all of our morals and our beliefs and she was…she was like the best of both of us. She wasn't evil like Rambaldi or Sark, because you can't be born evil, she was so pure and innocent and if Rambaldi got her she would use her for whatever she has planned, and it would be evil…I couldn't have my little girl tainted like that…it would destroy her. I gave her the easy way out, because she and Lauren didn't deserve to be put through all the pain of trying to fight off Rambaldi and constantly be running from her. I guess I deserved to live, to feel this pain and this burden because maybe I am evil dad, maybe that's why Rambaldi chose me, but I loved Faith too much to let her become me and get dragged in to this world."

"You could have came to me, the CIA could have helped you…"

"No! They'd have used Faith like some sort of experiment, she was a living, breathing, happy little girl, Dad." Tears began to well up in Sydney's eyes as she took out a photograph from her pocket and handed it to Jack.

It showed Sydney, Lauren and a young girl no older than eight in a park with smiles on their faces and hugging like a family on a sunny picnic day. Jack knew had known that life with Laura Bristow and Sydney until Irina had left.

"Sydney." He had on an expression, which told Sydney she wasn't going to like what she heard, he had used it the day he told her he was CIA. "When you were five and your mother had left, I feared she would take you, or project Black Hole would want you when they learnt that Irina Derevko was you mother, they knew you'd have a connection to Rambaldi and would take you away from me. So the night of your mother's memorial service I went in to your room with my gun in my pocket. I was a trained CIA agent, I could easily put a bullet in the right place to ensure painless and instant death, because then I had nothing to lose except you and I didn't want anyone taking you from me, but you woke up as I grew near your bed. You'd cried yourself to sleep, and when you found me in your room you got out of bed and flung your arms around me legs as you cuddled in to them and cried. When I picked you up and sat on your bed with you until you fell asleep I looked in to your eyes and I could not kill you…because of my cowardice you have endured all of this pain in your life, and I'm sorry. So no Sydney, I do not hate you, I admire you; you loved your family enough to end their pain."

"I'm glad I woke up." Sydney replied as she hugged her father for the first time in almost a decade. "Loving Lauren and having Faith was worth all of the pain I've ever had in my life. Thank you."

As the two embraced Vaughn rushed in to the room looking angry and horrified at the same time. "When we asked Langley for clearance to kill Rambaldi they denied it."

"What!" Sydney let go of her father and rose to her feet, clenching her fists in rage. "Why not? From what dad's told me she's ran a major terrorist group for the past seven years, stealing CIA research, chemical weapons, murdering countless people…"

"She helped the CIA bring down her organisation and argued a plea bargain." Vaughn explained, disgust evident in his voice. "Kendall granted it."

"What was the deal?" Sydney feared the answer, knowing how easily Rambaldi could wrap people around her little finger. Vaughn couldn't look her in the eye as he answered.

"She has now become director of a new black ops team for the CIA…Kendall just informed me, she's been given the freedom to chose her agents and the deal includes Sark who was given full immunity and is now a CIA agent."

"Who does she want?" Sydney knew the answer before she asked.

"She has requested that agents Sydney Bristow, Jack Bristow, Michael Vaughn, Eric Weiss, Arvin Sloane and Julian Sark join the new black ops team, as well as Marshall Flinkman and Nicole Vaughn." Kendall spoke from the door of Jack's office. "And she's getting them, Rambaldi is an invaluable asset to the CIA, we need her on side."

"My daughter is no longer a CIA agent, she's been MIA for nine years, she cold walk out of her now and no one could force her in to any black ops team…"

"No, Dad." Sydney objected. "I'll join her team, and I'll work under her authority, and the second she slips up I'll be there to make her pay for everything she has ever done to me."

Two days later they were all assembled in the briefing room of a hidden base of operations in Los Angeles for the new **Black Hole Defence **organization. Milo Rambaldi stood at the head of the table in an expensive looking suit and a neutral expression spread over her face.

"Welcome to the **BHD** as agents of this organization you are no longer officially associated with the CIA, you take your orders from me and you do not disobey them. Regardless of your past encounters with the agents in this organization you are all now on the same team and you will respect your superiors and your fellow agents. Dismissed." The others left muttering under their breaths and casting glances back at Sydney as Rambaldi held her back in the office. "We need to talk Sydney."

"Our daughter is dead. End of story." She went to walk away only to be stopped by Rambaldi grabbing her arm.

"How could you kill your own child? When you said you couldn't love our child I thought you could learn to, I guess I was wrong about you. You kill our child and have the audacity to call **me **evil?"

"I loved her enough to spare her from you." Sydney snapped. Rambaldi shook her head and sat down in her chair.

"Four hundred years of planning, worthless because you believe my motives were anything other than just wanting a family…but it's not too late Sydney, I made you immortal just like me, as you already know, you can still have a child, and Sark can still help us, we can have our family…"

Sydney pulled out the photo she had shown her father and slammed it down in front of Rambaldi. "Our daughter was so special, we can't just make another one; the world will never have such a gift again. I'll make damn sure of it."

Rambaldi looked at the young girl in the photograph. She was tall, but lanky and well built for an eight year old, Sydney had obviously passed on some of her CIA training for the child to defend herself, and her hair was identical in colour to Sydney's and her eyes were a pale blue like Rambaldi's.

"She was beautiful." Rambaldi muttered after a few moments. "But do not condemn me for wanting to have another child Sydney, you stole her away from me before she was born, she was part of me and I wasn't allowed to love her."

"Her name was Faith, she was polite, respectful, and able to defend herself by the age of four. She loved Skateboarding with her best friend Aiden, she hated spinach and she was the top of her class." Sydney explained. "She was not just a **thing** you can replace."

"May I see her?" Sark asked, surprising both women as he walked over from the doorway where he'd been standing. Sydney handed him the photograph and watched a small smile spread over his lips.

"She was truly beautiful." Sydney nodded and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"She had your smile, and she could charm people at the drop of a hat." Sark went to give the photo back but Sydney stopped him.

"Keep it. Even though we haven't seen eye to eye in the past, and I truly hated you, you didn't deserve to lose your daughter. I'm sorry."

"Thank you. I'm sorry about Lauren…" Sydney nodded and left the room leaving Rambaldi and Sark staring at the only connection they had left to their daughter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary:**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG-13

Chapter Nine

After three years of working for Rambaldi things had changed in Sydney's life. She owned an apartment where she lived on her own, sometimes entertaining guests like Vaughn and his wife and their twins, or Eric and his latest girlfriend, and often spending time with Julian Sark.

After being forced to work together they had talked mostly of their daughter, Sark wanting to know anything and everything he could about her and Sydney had been happy to retell the story of her daughter's life on numerous occasions. After months of talking about Faith they eventually moved on to other subjects, such as work, or life, even Sark sometimes offering information about himself.

After three years of shared mourning and solace Sydney Bristow had finally learnt to trust Julian Sark, who often told her of his hate for Milo Rambaldi for causing him to lose his only child.

Rambaldi was a different story though. With each passing day Sydney had built up more and more hatred for the woman who incessantly tried to pursue Sydney's affections in the hope of gaining another child.

When Sark knocked on her door after she had returned from work she answered and found him holding a tape. "Rambaldi…proof…plans…everything…told me." He panted breathlessly and handed her the tape.

She helped him inside and poured him a glass of wine to steady him. "Listen to the tape." He instructed. "Rambaldi told me her plans this evening. They're enough to have her arrested and locked away to rot in a federal prison for the rest of eternity."

Sydney played the tape and listened intently. "_Julian, I have recently re-acquired everything I need to create another child. Sydney has no idea that over the past two years she has unwillingly acquired most of the equipment and chemicals I needed to do so."_

"_Why do you want another child to Sydney? You could have a family with anyone, why her?" _

"_Because, the DNA mix of the three of us make the perfect child. The child will not only see visions of the future, but echoes of the past. He or she could sense people's emotions, their fears and their dreams and use them against them. My DNA mixed with the right chromosomes from both you and Sydney allows the child these abilities. It cuts out natural selection and creates a human being evolved thousands of years beyond this time. We can use the child against governments and monarchs, presidents and armies, anyone who stands in our way. The world would be our oyster Julian._"

The tape ended there and Sydney looked to Sark. "That's a pretty tempting offer for someone with your past Julian, it must have taken a lot to resist it." Sark shook his head.

"I won't let her defile my daughter's memory by trying to replace her." Sark objected. "And I'm a changed man Sydney. You helped me make amends. I won't let her hurt you again. We need to stop her."

Sydney nodded in agreement. "I know just what we need." Grabbing her coat she led Sark out of her house and instructed him to drive to the Vaughn residence.

When Nicole Vaughn opened the door and found Sydney and Sark on her doorstep in the middle of the night when they weren't expecting guests she knew something was wrong. "Sydney?" Vaughn came up to the door and looked anxious. "What's wrong?"

"Get Marshall here A.S.A.P." Sydney instructed as Nicole led them to the living room. "It's time to see how many bits Rambaldi has to be in before she can't revive herself." Nicole grinned widely at the prospect of getting rid of Rambaldi and being able to test her and Marshall's work.

"I'll phone Marshall!" Nicole beamed. "We'll have to make sure the containers are all ready…maybe we should reinforce them with led…" Vaughn smiled at his wife's excitement.

"That's my geek." He teased.

After Marshall and Jack arrived they set to work planning how they would take Rambaldi out while Marshall and Nicole went over last minute alterations to the containers that would hold Rambaldi.

"I can't die, so I'm going to have to be the one to take on Rambaldi." Sydney explained as they sat at the Vaughn's dinning room table. "The rest of you I'll need to help…separate the parts of Rambaldi after I kill her, in the past two years I've seen her die eight times, each time she takes no less than two minutes and no more than three and a half to revive, but her full strength doesn't return for hours…so if we fail we try again, understood?"

The others nodded or muttered their understanding and they continued to plan everything to the tiniest detail. "Will the containers hold?" Sydney asked as Marshall and Nicole packed them in to cases for them all to carry, one container per person present.

"They should survive nuclear exposure, temperatures of over one thousand degrees Celsius and under two hundred and fifty degrees Celsius, anything that gets thrown at them." Nicole and Marshall explained proudly.

"Ok. Then it's on. Tomorrow night, we put the plan in to action. Marshall, Nicole you look after the twins and Mitchell. The rest of you go to the meeting point and stay out of sight until Rambaldi is dead, then we each take our piece, boards our flights and hide the container somewhere in our destinations through out the worlds, none of us tell the others where they hid it and we all guard the combinations to open our containers with our lives, because if Rambaldi is freed again they won't be worth living, understood?"

The next night Rambaldi found Sydney sitting in her office waiting for her long after the others had gone home. "Sydney, how can I help you?" Rambaldi asked as she sat on the edge of her desk facing Sydney who, like herself, had not aged a day in eleven years it had been since they had first met.

"It's…it would have been Faith's birthday today. She would have been twelve. Lauren and I had always promised that when she turned twelve she was allowed a BMX…she was such a tom boy." Sydney smiled absently. "I miss her so much."

"You don't have to." Rambaldi offered. "Another child would look identical to her, we could raise her together Sydney and we could both have the family we so desperately want."

"Sark would never do it…" Sydney objected.

"We could convince him Sydney, with the two of us confronting him he'll fold easily. Please."

"Alright." Sydney gave in. " I know where Sark is, we can both try and convince him tonight, the sooner we do the quicker we can have a family."

When Sydney pulled up in the warehouse she used to use to see Vaughn when she was a double in the Alliance Rambaldi was the first out of the car and she looked confused. "Why is Sark here?"

"He isn't." She turned around to see Sydney holding a gun aimed at her chest. She laughed and shook her head in disbelief.

"What good is that going to do Sydney? It won't kill me. I'm immortal, just like you and I'm all you have."

"I've waited three years for this Rambaldi, and you have no idea how good it feels, because if you I don't have Lauren anymore, and I don't have Faith. I've wanted to make you pay for so long…and now I can. I don't care if the CIA needs you, I need you dead, and I've decided to put my needs first for a change."

"You can't kill me."

"No, but I can hurt you." Sydney fired the gun until the bullets stopped tearing at Rambaldi's flesh and the immortal prophet dropped to the ground. She grinned and shook her head.

"Enjoy your two minutes of freedom Sydney."

The second Rambaldi's eyes shut over as she lay in a pool of blood the others emerged carrying axes. Vaughn, Dixon, Weiss, Sark and Jack went to work and within two minutes Rambaldi had been separated in to six containers.

Wordlessly the six people present separated and headed for their flights. Weiss went to Cairo, Dixon to Moscow, Jack to London, and Vaughn went to Australia, leaving Sydney the destination she had chosen.

She took the large container that held Rambaldi's upper chest and found the small graveyard in the town she had seen only once before, from the mountain over looking it.

She dug a grave in the sweltering heat of the Italian summer and after it was deep enough she laid the container inside it. Once it was covered she found an old tombstone which dated back over two hundred years and heaved it to the fresh grave, marking where the great Milo Rambaldi's heart was buried, back in the place it had been born it.


	10. Epilogue

**Title: **Esoteric

**Summary: **Life goes on no matter how much it changes.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Alias or any of the characters from the show.

**Rating: **PG-13

When Sydney arrived back in LA Vaughn had already handed Kendall the tape and although he wasn't pleased that they'd gone against his orders he allowed them to stay within the CIA without being punished.

Jack took over the Black Hole Defence organisation and their lives returned to some degree of normality, but it wasn't how it was before Rambaldi, because Lauren wasn't there and Vaughn had a family.

Sitting in her apartment at her computer Sydney felt safe at last. Rambaldi would never be freed and she would never harm Sydney or anyone she cared about again.

She logged on to her computer and accessed her Instant Messaging account. She and Lauren had used it to talk all those years ago when they'd first been exploring their feelings so that Vaughn wouldn't find out.

Now Lauren's screen name was red and still remained the same as it had twelve years ago before Rambaldi had surfaced. For Sydney it was another painful reminder that she had lost the woman she loved and her child all because of the 'destiny' Rambaldi had created for her.

Four Years later 

As Vaughn entered the abandoned warehouse they had killed Rambaldi in half a decade ago he could still see the look of relief on Sydney's face. She had finally been freed from Rambaldi and she no longer needed to be strong.

He checked his watch for the time. Almost noon, he was supposed to be meeting a man who claimed he had information that was vital to the CIA. When a woman emerged from the shadows he tried to make out her features but it wasn't until she stepped in to the light that he realised who it was.

Her hair was shorter and coloured to hide the grey, which had started to taint it, and she had aged just as Vaughn had but her identity was still unmistakable. His mouth hung open in astonishment and the colour drained from his face.

She smiled and walked closer.

"You look like you've seen a ghost Michael."

End.

**A/N: **I decided to leave the ending like this so as to continue it in a sequel, which although it leads on from 'Esoteric' has a different plot. The sequel 'Revelation' will be posted shortly.


End file.
